Page 26 - Carrahers_Polymer_Chemistry,_Eighth_Edition

Polymer Nomenclature xxv

STRUCTURE-BASED NAMES

Although source-based names are generally employed for simple polymers, IUPAC has published a
number of reports for naming polymers. These reports are being widely accepted for the naming of
complex polymers. A listing of such reports is given in the references section. A listing of source-
and structure-based names for some common polymers is given in Table 1.

LINKAGE-BASED NAMES
Many polymer “families” are referred to by the name of the particular linkage that connects the
polymers (Table 2). The family name is “poly” followed by the linkage name. Thus, those polymers
that contain an ester linkage are known as polyesters; those with an ether linkage are called poly-
ethers, and so on.

TABLE 1
Source and Structure-Based Names

Source-Based Names Structure-Based Names
Polyacrylonitrile Poly(1-cyanoethylene)
Poly(ethylene oxide) Polyoxyethylene
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Polyoxyethyleneoxyterephthaloyl
Polyisobutylene Poly(1,1-dimethylethylene)
Poly(methyl methacrylate) Poly[(1-methoxycarbonyl)-1-metylethylene]
Polypropylene Poly(1methylethylene)
Polystyrene Poly(1-phenylethylene)
Polytetrafl uoroethylene Polydifl uoromethylene
Poly(vinylacetate) Poly(1-acetoxyethylene)
Poly(vinyl alcohol) Poly(1-hydroxyethylene)
Poly(vinyl chloride) Poly(1-chloroethylene)
Poly(vinyl butyral) Poly[(2-propyl-1,3-dioxane-4,6-diyl)methylene]

TABLE 2
Linkage-Based Names
Family Name Linkage Family Name Linkage
O
||
Polyamide −N−C− Polyvinyl −C−C−
O O O
|| || ||
Polyester −O−C− Polyanhydride −C−O−C−
OH HO H
|| | ||| |
Polyurethane −O−C−N− Polyurea −N−C−N−
O
||
Polyether −O− Polycarbonate −O−C−O−
Polysiloxane −O−Si− Polysulfi de −S−

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